nPostednon December 20, 2013
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nItnwas the last European colony in Asia. It is the world’s biggestngambling center. It is one of the world’s richest cities.
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n AndnI’ve rarely run across the name “Macau”!
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nOnnthis date in 1999, Macau ceased being ruled by Portugal; it becamenthe second Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic ofnChina. (The first, in 1997, was Hong Kong, which is just a ferry ridenaway from Macau.) Like Hong Kong, Macau keeps its own legal system,npolice force, and money, and in many ways it is an independent nationn(a sort of city-state). However, China is responsible for its defensenand foreign affairs.
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| This facade is all that is left of Macau’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. It looks flat and empty because it IS flat and empty! |
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nMacaunhas its own dialect of Portuguese (Macanese Portuguese) and a creolenlanguage known as Palua. (A creole is a true language created fromntwo languages, in this case of course Portuguese and CantonesenChinese.) Even though there are mixtures of language, the populationnis almost entirely Chinese.
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nWhynis Macau so very rich? Why is it such a popular tourist destinationnthat its entire economy is based on tourism? So popular that, fornseveral years at least, construction companies were building 16 newnhotel rooms PER DAY in Macau!
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nWell,nit’s the only place in China where you can legally gamble. And therenare more than a billion people living in China!
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nMacaunis sort of the Las Vegas of China. The largest casino in Macau, thenVenetian, is owned by the Las Vegas Sands. And guess what? It is thenlargest casino in the world (and the sixth largest building of anynkind).
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nAlsonon this date:
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Anniversary of an innovation that led to corrugated cardboard
Anniversary of an innovation that led to corrugated cardboard n
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nAnniversarynof Elvis being drafted into the army
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nElectricityntheme day
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nAnniversarynof first cantilever bridge over Niagara Falls
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on:
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nDecembern holidays
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nDecembern birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in December
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuaryn holidays
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nJanuaryn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in January
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